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Thursday, March 1, 2007

Surakiart Sathirathai: Another Thaksin Crony Rehabilitating Himself By Hypocritically Pimping Sufficiency Theory

POLITICS / EX-FOREIGN MINISTER HEADS FOR THE US

Bangkok Post

Surakiart to lecture on 'sufficiency'

SURASAK TUMCHAROEN

Former foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai is leaving for the United States to lecture at Harvard University on His Majesty the King's sufficiency economy. Mr Surakiart said he would lecture in his capacity as visiting scholar at Harvard Law School, of which he is a graduate, and fellow of the same university's John F Kennedy School of Government.


His trip follows closely in the wake of the resignation of former Thaksin deputy prime minister and finance minister Somkid Jatusripitak from a short-lived stint as the government's communicator on its economic policies and the sufficiency economy principle.


He said he would also speak about other economic development alternatives suitable not only for Thailand but other developing countries too.


He said he had been speaking about the sufficiency economy _ explaining its thrust to visiting ministers, business people, and resident ambassadors.


"I once held a workshop among ministerial-level representatives of more than 30 countries attending an Unctad conference in 2003 to discuss the principles of the sufficiency economy,'' he recalled.


In the following year, his foreign guests, mostly at ministerial level, were granted an audience with His Majesty who kindly chaired a debate on the sufficiency economy, he added.


In the US, Mr Surakiart said he would be a lecturer on economic development alternatives for a US-based study group set up by Nobel laureate Joseph Steigliz.


He said he considered the task of communicating the sufficiency economy abroad a big challenge.


Mr Surakiart, whose son, Santitarn, is currently taking a master's degree in economics at Harvard, said he would be touring Harvard from early next month until the end of theyear, and each time is due to spend about six weeks there.


Mr Surakiart, who spent most of last year fruitlessly campaigning for the top job at the United Nations, has been drawn into explaining to his foreign contacts the coup on Sept 19 that ousted his former boss, Thaksin Shinawatra.


''Dozens of foreign ministers and ambassadors from Europe, Africa and the Middle East telephoned me almost every day to make private inquiries,'' he said.


''I persuaded some foreign investors who had been so appalled by the coup and so close to leaving Thailand to change their mind and stay,'' he added.


Why not send Newin to the US to lecture about agricultural policy?

Why not send Sudarat to the US to lecture about health policy?

Why not send Chavalit, Barnharn, Sanoh and Sanan to the US to lecture about democratic development?

Harvard University should be ashamed. I can't believe it is allowing this phony to lecture on any topic, let alone sufficiency theory.

Why are Thai Rak Thai politicians and Thaksin cronies the only people qualified to lecture the world on sufficiency theory?

What is wrong with sending those folks who have actually managed the royal projects for decades to lecture instead of multimillionaire Thai politicians who have never lived a day of sufficiency theory in their lives?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

To be fair, Surakiart has no choice: he's married to the daughter of the Queen's little sister. If you believe the rumors, the father of his wife is King himself. So he has to support sufficiency theory - blood is thicker than water.